USPS digital system allows mailers to alerts donors
The United States Postal Service’s (USPS) latest service, Informed Delivery, is an investment in how they are using digital technology to improve the mailing experience for both senders and receivers. A trend toward greater digital interaction among consumers is growing.
Fundraisers can take print and digital material that Informed Delivery creates to integrate hardcopy mail into the digital routine of donors and protective supporters. The consumer sees the email version of the mail piece and then receives the physical direct mail piece within a short time period, reinforcing the messaging. According to the USPS, response rates go up by 30 percent when marketers use email and direct mail together, compared to direct mail alone.
Informed Delivery bridges the gap between the physical mail piece and digital touchpoints. It creates an experience that enables users to opt-in to view digital images of the mail slated to arrive in their physical mailbox that day. Users sign up and associate a physical delivery address to their account. At that point, the person can choose to receive a preview of the mail arriving each day via one or all these options: daily email, by logging on to usps.com and viewing their personal dashboard, or by downloading the Informed Delivery app. It also provides notifications of packages, so it’s not just a preview of letters and flats.
According to the USPS, the number of consumers using the services is growing. They include:
• 13.8 Million: Registered Informed Delivery Users;
• 11.7 Million: Registered Households;
• 19 Million: Email-enabled Users (the number of people who receive their Informed Delivery previews via daily emails);
• 188 percent: Percentage of Informed Delivery users that view their notifications every day or almost every day;
• 15,901: Campaigns created thus far; and,
• 11,215: Brands that have been represented via Informed Delivery Campaigns.
People sign up on usps.com to become an Informed Delivery User. The mail is imaged during USPS processing where digital images of the exterior address side of mail pieces are gathered. USPS matches these mail piece images to the Informed Delivery User. This is when “Mailer Interactive Campaigns” make the connection. The USPS notifies the “Informed Delivery User” of mail arriving that day, which the USPS delivers through regular delivery.
As the Mail Owner, nonprofits can turn on an Informed Delivery Campaign for mailings. Digital content that generates an interactive campaign can be uploaded. Instead of the standard black-and-white mail piece scan, you can replace it with a full color image called a “Representative Image” and include a “Ride Along” image with a strong call-to- action. In addition, you’ll want to add a URL that will take the mail recipient straight to your website.
The USPS also offers reporting that will tell you how many names in your file are signed up for Informed Delivery before you decide if you want to run a campaign. Once your campaign has mailed, you can receive information on the email open rates and the number of people that clicked on your URL.
Informed Delivery Users will see up to 10 mail pieces in each daily email. These and any additional mail pieces can be viewed online by logging on to the user’s dashboard at usps.com. A “click to call” functionality is being considered for the future.
More than 50 percent of Millennials polled by the USPS responded they would check their mail more often if they had Informed Delivery. If the landing page linked to the messaging is created specifically for Informed Delivery, you now have yet another method of tracking response rates from all age groups.
Even with linking to a standard website, a post-campaign analysis will show how many received the notifications, how many saw it via email, and how many clicked through to the landing page.
The best part is that the service is free, for now. The USPS doesn’t charge marketers (including nonprofits) to run Informed Delivery campaigns. They are even providing a 2-percent postage discount on mail entered that has a corresponding Informed Delivery campaign as part of their mailing promotions.
Carolyn Angelini is director of Resource and Supplier Relations at Production Solutions. Her email is [email protected]
